Athens orders Alexander Vinnik be handed over to French authorities, Cyprus sits out the case

The Greek Supreme Court has ruled that the extradition of Russian national Alexander Vinnik, also known as Mr. Bitcoin, to France can move forward.

A Greek lower court had previously ordered Vinnik be extradited to the United States but the case became complicated when an extradition to Russia was also given the go ahead.

Cyprus also got involved in the extradition battle when a claim was filed against Vinnik in Limassol. A Limassol district judge dismissed the lawsuit back in November, essentially causing the island nation to sit out the entire case which had become a worldwide hot potato issue.

Some reports implicated Vinnik as a possible person of interest in the ongoing US special counsel investigation regarding Russian interference with American elections

But with no timelines made clear, France also threw its hat in the ring asking Greek authorities to hand Vinnik over. His defence attorney in Athens fought the extradition initially with his client showing preference to go on trial in Russia. He also went on a hunger strike and lost weight, according to media reports.

Vinnik was detained by Greek authorities in July 2017, on charges filed in the United States accusing Mr Bitcoin of money laundering to the tune of several billions of dollars through his now non-existent BTC-e cryptocurrency trading platform.

Some reports implicated Vinnik as a possible person of interest in the ongoing US special counsel investigation regarding alleged Russian interference in the American presidential election back in 2016.

In an interview with Kathimerini last year, Vinnik said he feared that if he was extradited to America he would “never return from the US."